Military

SA-16 GIMLET Igla-1 9K310

The "IGLA-1" is a portable anti aircraft missile system (SA-16) with solid propellant guided missile. It is a simplified version of "IGLA" (SA-18) portable anti aircraft missile system. The system is designed for destroying low flying aircraft and helicopters. The missile can be launched to follow or meet enemy aircraft. SA-16 GIMLET (Igla-1 9K310) man-portable surface-to-air missile system, a further development from the SA-7 & SA-14 series, is an improved version of the SA-18 GROUSE, which was introduced in 1983, three years before the SA-16.

The SA-16 feattures a new seeker and modified launcher nose cover. Whereas the the SA-18 9M39 missile is fitted with an aerodynamic spike on the nose, the 9M310 missile of the SA-16 has the spike replaced with an aerodynamic cone held in place with a wire tripod. On the SA-18 the protective cover of the seeker is conical, on the SA-16 it is tubular with a prominent lip at the forward edge. The 9M313 missile of the SA-16 employs an IR guidance system using proportional convergence logic, and an improved two-color seeker, presumably IR and UV). The seeker is sensitive enough to home in on airframe radiation, and the two-color sensitivity is designed to minimize vulnerability to flares. The SA-16 has a maximum range of 5000 meters and a maximum altitude of 3500 meters.